


What Happened To Us?

by drewvansexy



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-11
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-14 23:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1282609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drewvansexy/pseuds/drewvansexy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aria collapsed onto his chest, crying, hoping she would get to hear his voice one last time, "Please, Ezra. I love you."  He took one final breath and pressed his lips to her ear, using any strength he had left to speak... </p><p>"I hate you," he whispered. </p><p>The steady beeping turned solid as she wrapped her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks. How did it end like this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**September 2nd, 2013**

Aria sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her hands in his, "I- I'm so sorry..." she said softly. He looked into her warm hazel eyes as his breathing slowed. She knew this was it. She could see his eyelids getting heavier and how hard it was for him to stay awake. Aria collapsed onto his chest, crying, hoping she would get to hear his voice one last time, "Please, Ezra. I love you."

He took one final breath and pressed his lips to her ear, using any strength he had left to speak...

 _"I hate you,"_ he whispered.

The steady beeping turned solid as she wrapped her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

* * *

**_June 10th, 2013_ **

_"Ezra, stop!" Aria giggled as his fingers danced along her stomach. She tugged on his arms which were wrapped around her waist, her back pushing against his chest as she struggled to get out of his grasp. "Ezra!" She let out a playful yelp and managed to turn towards him, still locked in his embrace._

_Ezra continued to laugh when he saw the frown on Aria's face, "What?" he asked, giving her an innocent smile._

_"I'm serious."_

_"Fine you win," he grinned. "Like always." He set her free and walked to the kitchen._

_Aria fell back onto the couch and let out a sigh. "Everything alright?" Ezra asked._

_"Nothing, it's stupid."_

_He handed her a cup of coffee before sitting down himself, lifting her legs and placing them over his lap, "Aria..."_

_"I just missed you." She smiled into her mug as she took a sip, glancing up at him shyly._

_He ran his hand up and down her leg, "I was only gone for a few days."_

_"A few days too many." She put her mug down on the table and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I don't like it when you're gone."_

_"Well, it's a good thing I'm not gonna be gone anymore."_

_"No more trips?"_

_"No more trips," he said, smiling._

_"Wait..." _she smiled back and brought him closer to her, "_ Does this mean you got the editing job?"_

_"This means we're going out for dinner tonight."_

_Aria's face lit up as she crashed her lips against his. Ezra flew back in surprise before he returned the kiss, running his tongue along her lower lip. She allowed his tongue to slip into her mouth and pushed on his chest, causing Ezra to lie down with her on top of him. The two continued to move their bodies in perfect rhythm, lost in the passion of their kiss. Ezra ran his fingers through Aria's long wavy hair as her hands rested on either side of his head.  
_

_The sound of Aria's phone ringing in the kitchen made her sit up. "Let it go..." Ezra said, pulling her face back down to his. Aria gave him one more kiss before getting up, causing Ezra to groan as she lifted herself off of him._

_Aria picked up her phone, "Hello?" she answered. "Oh, hey mom."_

_Ezra walked over and stood behind her, moving her hair out of the way so he could kiss her neck. A cold shiver ran down Aria's spine as his lips brushed against her neck, "Yes mom, I'm with him right now." Aria could feel Ezra smile against her skin. "No I won't be home tonight, we're going out for dinner." Ezra's warm breath swept over her ear, "Okay, mom, I love you but I really have to go. Bye." Aria quickly ended the call and Ezra took the phone out of her hand, placing it on the counter._

_"Ezra, you really need to stop doing that," she said, looking over her shoulder._

_"Doing what?" he whispered into her ear, resting his hands on Aria's hips._

_"That, especially when I'm talking to my mother."_

_"It's not my fault I can't control myself when I'm with you," Ezra smiled._

_"It's entirely your fault."_

_"Well then I guess this is my fault too..." Ezra swept her off of the ground and carried her over to the bed._

_"Ezra! Put me down!"_

_"As you wish, my love." He threw her gently on the bed and climbed on top of her, immediately pressing his lips to hers. She helped Ezra remove his shirt and toss it to the side. Her fingers were tangled in his hair as he made his way to her neck._

_"Ezra..."_

_"Mmm?" Ezra mumbled._

__Aria placed a hand on his chest,_ "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the gift bag on his dresser._

_He lifted his head to see where she was looking, "It's nothing." He turned back to her, leaning in for another kiss, but she pulled back again._

_She got off the bed and walked to the dresser, "Doesn't look like nothing."_

_Ezra reluctantly stood up, "It's a present. For you."_

_Aria raised an eyebrow and picked up the card next to the bag, "For me?"_

_His eyes shifted to the floor, "I was gonna give it to you at dinner."_

_"To the love of my life," Aria read, "There isn't anywhere I'd rather celebrate than here with you. No matter what happens after this summer, these past few years have been the best of my life. I love you more than anything, Your Ezra."_

_Ezra turned bright red as Aria reached for his hand, "It sounds better when you don't read it aloud," he said._

_She smiled, "Baby, nothing is going to happen next year. It's only college."_

_He let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah, I guess."_

_"Nothing will change. It'll just be a new city, that's all."_

_"New city, new friends... New boys."_

__Aria touched his face, forcing him to look at her._ "Okay, stop. Don't do that."_

_"What? It's true."_

_"I love you, Ezra. I'll love you forever. You are coming with me next year and we are going to start our lives together. No more parents getting in the way, no more small town drama, just you and me."_

_Ezra bit his tongue, wanting desperately to say how wrong she was, but he kept quiet and smiled._

_"Now can I open the actual present or are you really going to make me wait?" she asked, pleading with her eyes._

_He sighed, "Aria, you know I can't say no when you look at me like that."_

_A smug expression crossed her face. "I know," she said, ripping open the bag._

_Inside there was a small box with a golden bow wrapped around it. She untied the bow and lifted the top to reveal a stunning skull necklace with matching earrings. Her jaw dropped as she took in the beautiful sight. Her index finger slid over the silver chain and skull accent before moving on to the earrings._

_"You like them?" Ezra asked._

_Aria snapped out of her daze, "Like them? Ezra, these are perfect!"_

_He picked up the necklace, "Here, turn around." Aria spun around eagerly, letting out a small gasp as the cold metal touched her chest. He clasped it shut and she reached down to play with the jewelry resting around her neck._

_She turned to look in the mirror, "It's absolutely beautiful. Thank you."_

__Ezra gave her a kiss on the cheek._ "Anything for you."_

* * *

_Aria was still working on the seemingly finished chocolate lava cake that was sitting in the middle of the table._

_"You know, I don't think there's anything left on there for you to eat," he said, laughing._

__Aria swiped her finger along the bottom of the plate, picking_ up any remnants of th_ _e dessert and putting it in her mouth. "You're just a pessimist," she said, wiping her hand on her napkin and taking the last sip of champagne from her glass._

_A huge smile spread across his face as he looked at the beautiful girl sitting across from him. So mature yet so young and playful at the same time. He couldn't believe how lucky he'd been to know such an amazing woman, and at the same time he couldn't help but think how unlucky she'd been to have met him. He knew that it could never end well, but it was the times like this that he forgot about the world and all of their misfortune._

_A waiter placed the paid bill on the table and Ezra quickly slipped his credit card back into his wallet. "Ready?" he asked as he finished signing the slip of paper, "Or perhaps you'd like to lick the plate?"_

_Aria glared at him as she stood up, rolling her eyes when he extended his arm to her. He chuckled to himself, "I'm sorry. Shall we?"_

_She put her arm through his and the two walked out of the restaurant._

_The cold wind felt extremely harsh against Aria's bare shoulders. Ezra noticed her shiver and offered her his jacket, placing it around her body as she willingly accepted it. Ezra called for a taxi and brought his arm around Aria's waist, pulling her closer to him. It didn't take long for the driver to arrive and Ezra opened the door, allowing Aria to step inside before him._

_"Where to?" The driver asked._

_"Rosewood," Ezra said, closing the door as he got in._

_The taxi started up and Aria leaned against Ezra's chest, her head resting on his shoulder. "Thank you for tonight," she said, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers._

_"It's my pleasure," Ezra replied._

_He brought her hand up to his lips and laid a small kiss on the backside of her palm. Aria closed her eyes and let herself doze off in his arms. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms and smiled._ _He moved his mouth to the side of her face and whispered, "I love you, Aria. Forever."_


	2. Chapter 2

**June 23rd, 2013**

_Perfect._

_That was the only word he could think of as the two of them laid side by side, letting the warm summer air sweep over their still bodies. Ezra watched as the wind hit her peaceful face and stirred the blades of grass that intertwined with her dark wavy hair. The sun reflected off of the surface of her necklace, the necklace that he gave to her just a few weeks prior._

_"You're staring." Aria said, her eyes still closed._

_"I can't help it." Ezra replied. It was true, he couldn't help himself. Her beauty drew his eyes to her in a way that he couldn't_ _explain._

_"Careful," She pulled her lips into a smirk and turned her head towards Ezra, opening her eyes, " _People might think you're a creep."__

_He frowned and turned his body on his side, facing away from her, "Is this better?"_

_Aria chuckled to herself and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to her, "No, no I much prefer this," she said, leaning over his body to give him a kiss. Her hair swept over his face as she rolled off of him and settled on her back again. It was quiet for a few moments before Aria spoke, "Why can't summer last forever?"_

_"Nothing lasts forever." he pointed out, quite matter-of-factly._

_"It was a rhetorical question." she said, looking up at the sky._

_Ezra thought about his words, and although they came out much darker than he intended, he thought about how true they would prove to be. Forevers didn't exist, not for him at least. He was well aware of that, but as the clocked ticked down he sometimes found himself wondering if forever was possible. Listening to this girl talk about infinities gave him a special kind of hope. The kind of hope that he knew was misplaced, but chose to put faith in anyway. The rest of forever. It was something Aria always said. If there was one thing he could be sure of, he would be spending the rest of his forever with the girl he loved more than anything._

_Ezra snapped out of his train of thought and glanced at Aria, "Now you're the one staring."_

_She smiled and put her hand over his chest, resting her head on his arm, "What are you thinking about?"_

_"You." he said shyly, stroking her arm with his fingertips._

_"Yeah? What about me?"_

_"Just that I love you. I mean I really, **really**  love you."_

_Her cheeks turned bright red as she buried her face in his chest, wondering how she could have possibly found someone like Ezra Fitz. There was always a catch with boys like him. She knew that he had to have a horrible secret just waiting to come out and rip his perfect image apart, but no matter what he did he was still the same Ezra. There was always a catch, but every moment Aria spent with him she thought that maybe just this once, there wasn't._

_It was silent again. The only sounds came from the whistling of leaves or the occasional bird singing as it flew by. For Aria and Ezra it was a comfortable silence. That was something not commonly found among couples, the idea of comfortable silence. For most people it was awkward, but for them it was something to be cherished. Aria could think of no better way to spend her afternoon as she listened carefully to Ezra's soothing heartbeat, her head rising up and down with his chest. His mind wandered as he stared up at the clouds, picking apart each one to look like Aria; her eyes, her leg, her lips. He saw her in everything. She consumed his every thought just as he consumed hers. A relationship was something neither of them had put much thought into considering both of their parents were divorced. They didn't look for love the way most people their age did, it just happened. It was unexpected. Aria was used to running away before things got too serious but Ezra came so suddenly, so surprisingly, that she had already fallen before she even realized it. Maybe it was fate, chance, or maybe pure luck. Whatever it was, it was once in a lifetime._

_Twenty minutes passed without saying a word, both enjoying their own thoughts in each other's company, "Ezra?" Aria asked, lifted her head._

_"Hmm?"_

_Aria sat up, "I'm hungry."_

_Ezra laughed and stood up, extending his hand to her._ _She took his hand and he pulled her onto her feet. Keeping his fingers locked with hers, they walked out of the park. They reached the main road and Ezra tried to ignore the dirty looks they received. He felt like a criminal when he walked through the streets of Rosewood, which he wasn't since Aria was no longer his student and of age. It bothered him that very few could understand how right he and Aria were for each other. _ _Sometimes Ezra smiled to himself when he passed by a scowling face, because he knew that they could spend a lifetime trying to find what he and Aria had and still never get it.__ His mind counted down to the day when they would move to California together and start living the the life he knew Aria deserved. He hated seeing the effects that their taboo relationship had on her life in Rosewood. Her family, her classmates, and most of the town used it against her and he couldn't help but feel responsible. If only he had controlled his feelings and never let himself fall for her. However, the truth was that after meeting her in the bar, he laid awake that night already falling foolishly in love with Aria Montgomery. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that they were wrong once they realized their situation, it was too late._

_Ezra held the door for Aria as she entered the brew._ _"Hey Aria," said a voice from behind the counter. Aria looked up to see Emily walking in her direction. Emily gave her a quick hug and nodded towards the man standing at Aria's side, "Ezra."_

_"It's good to see you Emily." he said, smiling._

_She walked back to the counter as Aria and Ezra followed, "So, what can I get you guys?"_

_Aria ordered first, "Caesar salad and iced coffee, please."_

_"And I'll take a muffin and a cappuccino." he said, removing his arm from Aria's waist to retrieve his wallet. Emily quickly prepared their coffee and his muffin, "The salad will only be a few minutes." she said, taking the card in Ezra's hand. He paid for them both and grabbed his coffee and muffin, "I'm gonna get a table."_

_As soon as he walked away Emily's smile grew to cover her entire face. "What?" Aria asked defensively, sipping on her drink._

_"Nothing, it's just nice seeing you two out in public."_

_Aria rolled her eyes, "Glad someone thinks so."_

_Emily smiled apologetically, "But hey, you're moving out to California with him soon, yeah?"_

_Aria's face lit up at the thought, "End of July."_

_"If anyone deserves to get out of this shitty town it's you two," Emily sighed, "I'll really miss you though..."_

_"Hey, I'm not leaving tomorrow!" Aria replied, "No goodbyes yet."_

_A man placed Aria's food on the counter as Emily glanced at the group of students walking through the door, "I gotta get back to work, I'll see you at Spencer's later tonight." Aria smiled as she walked to the table Ezra was seated at. She was happy that there was at least one person she didn't need to say goodbye to._

_"So are you staying over tonight?" Ezra asked as Aria finished her salad. His voice sounded desperate._

_"I can't, I'm meeting the girls at Spencer's tonight. Relax babe, you're moving across the country with me. For the rest of forever, right?"_

_He smiled and reached for her hand, "Right."_

_As people walked in and out of the Brew they stared and whispered at the couple quietly laughing in the corner. Aria and Ezra seemed to be in their own world when they were together. They hadn't even noticed the copious amounts of attention they were receiving until some of Aria's former classmates decided to sit next to them. I_ _n what appeared to be a not-so-subtle attempt to be loud and obnoxious, Aria found them easy to ignore. Everything they said were things she'd heard countless times before, but for Ezra it was unmanageable. He was okay with the rumors about him, but he couldn't stand to hear people talk about Aria. Ezra was always kind and forgiving, but if there was one thing that made him angry this was it. Aria, recognizing the rare look of rage in his eyes, stood from the table and dragged him along with her._

_As they walked towards the exit she stopped suddenly, "Let them whisper, Ezra. They can't touch us." she said quietly, gently pressing her lips to his. He took her hand as they left and chuckled as_ _Aria blew a kiss in the direction of the speechless students that had been sitting next to them. She was fearless, and although she would never admit it to him, Ezra was the only person she could be fearless around. He was the only person who made her feel safe enough and vice versa. They broke down each others walls and used the pieces to rebuild one of their own. A wall that surrounded them and protected them against the harsh blows of reality the world loved to throw at them._


	3. Chapter 3

**July 4th, 2013**

_Firecrackers lit up the street and Ezra held Aria closely as they watched the crackles of light dance on the ground, "Thank you." Aria said softly, leaning her head back against his chest._

_"For what?" Ezra asked, squeezing her gently._

_"Tonight, these past few years, everything..."_

_He kissed the top of her head, "I love you."_

_She smiled sweetly as the crowd continued to grow around them. Fourth of July was never a big deal to Aria. Sure, she would watch the lame fireworks put on every year by the Rosewood Founders Association but she never felt the need to do anything special. Of course, that was before she found someone who made her want to. The trip to Philadelphia was well worth it just for the benefit of being in public without the constant stares and whispers._

_Ezra glanced down and grinned as he saw the chain around her neck, "You've haven't taken that off since the day I gave it to you."_

_Aria's fingers lightly stroked the skull necklace as she smiled, "Yeah, and I never will."_

_"Good, now you can tell the horny college boys that your incredible, intimidating, and super hot boyfriend gave it to you."_

_She pushed against him lightly, "Stop it... You know I would never say 'super hot'," she teased, making Ezra_ _push her back, "and you know how much I love you," s _he added, giggling softly.__

_The sky lit up as the first firework burst in the air, the sound causing Aria to jump slightly. Ezra _chuckled at her reaction and bent down to kiss her cheek, resting his chin on her shoulder. His attention was soon drawn away from the fireworks overhead and he settled his gaze on Aria's face as it changed colors with the sky. He loved the way she smiled each time a new firework exploded and he loved the way the color accented her delicate features. Red light poured over her soft lips making the smooth curves seem nothing but irresistible. Yellow illuminated her beautiful skin, and no matter how hard he looked there wasn't a single flaw. Her eyes danced with the lights in the sky, mirroring each explosion, their dark, rich color allowing him to see every detail. She was mesmerized by the show displayed in front of her, it was far more elaborate and beautiful than anything she had ever seen in Rosewood. He was equally as mesmerized by her incredible beauty as he continued to watch the fireworks only through her. If she knew how he was staring, and he found it impossible that she didn't, she certainly didn't care. The finale started up and Aria's heart pounded as what seemed like a hundred fireworks set off at once. She turned around and buried the side of her face in his chest as she watched, feeling his heart pounding against her as well. The explosions eventually ceased and the crowd immediately erupted in cheers and applause, Ezra still holding her close.__

_She pulled her face away from his body and stared lovingly at him, "Thank you," she whispered again._

__"No, thank_ **you** _." he whispered back._ _

_"I haven't done anything."_

_"You've done everything, Aria. I will never be able to thank you enough."_

_Her cheeks turned red and she pressed her face into his chest again, slowly shaking her head. He leaned back and set his hand underneath her chin, lifting it to place a soft kiss on her lips, letting his mouth linger on hers._

_"Ezra?" A voice called out._ _The couple reluctantly parted from each other and turned to face the figure approaching them, "Holy shit, it is you..." the voice said, as its owner walked out of the shadows._

_"H-Hardy?" Ezra stuttered. He hadn't seen Hardy or even spoken to him since the short story reading. He couldn't talk to Hardy about anything without the persistent disapproval of his relationship, and Ezra had plenty of that in his own mind without the help of his best friend._

_"Dude, come here!" Hardy said, trapping Ezra in a hug, "I haven't seen you in forever."_

_Ezra coughed as Hardy slapped his back, "Yeah, sorry. I've been busy."_

_Hardy released Ezra and turned his attention at the girl standing to the side. He extended his hand to her, "Aria, nice to see you again. In case you don't remember, I'm-"_

_Aria shook his hand, "Trust me, I remember."_

_Hardy awkwardly stepped back from Aria and let the sight of them together sink in, "So you two are still together... Wow, I'm real happy for you guys."_

_"Thanks." Aria said, rather unenthusiastically as she recalled the night Hardy tried, and nearly succeeded in, talking Ezra out of seeing her._

_"And you're gonna be a senior next year?" Hardy asked, still not completely comfortable with the age difference and the danger it created for his friend._

_"She just graduated," Ezra cut in, "We're actually moving out to California at the end of the month." Sensing her discomfort with the situation Ezra slipped his hand inside of Aria's reassuringly, her shoulders relaxing at his touch._

_"Shit, are you serious?" Hardy exclaimed, surprised at how serious their relationship had become. He was sure after discovering the truth about them at the bar a few years ago that they would fail. Not because he didn't want Ezra to be happy, but because he was sure something horrible would come of it. Never in a million years did he expect to see them moving across the state together._

_Aria nodded as she wrapped her free hand around his arm, bringing Ezra even closer._

_"Okay, we've got some major catching up to do. There's a bar just down the street."_

_Ezra opened his mouth to protest but Aria jumped in before he got the chance, "Sure."_

_Both of the men stared at her in surprise but Hardy, unwilling to risk the opportunity, accepted the answer immediately and motioned for the couple to follow._

_She started to walk but Ezra tugged her hand, "Look, Aria. I know he hasn't been the most supportive of us, you don't have to do this." he said quietly so Hardy couldn't hear._

_"No," she shook her head as she pulled him forward, "I want to."_

_A feeling of relief secretly rushed over Ezra as they walked. He would never do anything to make Aria uncomfortable but he was grateful she had given him the chance to make things right with Hardy before it was too late._

_"Come on," Hardy said as they stepped through the door before heading in the direction of the bar._

_Ezra turned to face Aria, "It's not too late to ditch him and head home if you're not comfortable," he offered._

__"Ezra, stop. It's fine. I_ **want** _to be here," she gave him a comforting smile as she squeezed his hand lightly, "Besides, it's only 9:30."_ _

_Ezra followed her through the crowd until they reached Hardy, who was already ordering as they walked up, "Two beers and," he paused and turned towards Aria questionably._

_"Beer's fine."_

_"Make that three beers," Hardy added, "And three shots of tequila."_

_"Hardy! Seriously?" Ezra asked._

_"What? I'm buying. I'm sure Aria doesn't mind," he said turning to her again._

_She shrugged, "I don't mind."_

_The bartender brought over the beers and poured three shots, setting them in front of Hardy. Ezra rolled his eyes and leaned against the bar, eyeing Aria cautiously as she reached for one._

_"Man, stop being such a downer," Hardy said, passing a beer and shot to Ezra._

_Aria caught his look and rolled her eyes, "Don't look at me like that."_

_"Like what?" he asked._

_"Like you're worried about me. It's not like I've never done this before," she said as she downed the shot effortlessly, placing the glass delicately back on the bar allowing the bartender to refill it._

_Ezra laughed nervously, of course he knew that she wasn't exactly inexperienced when it came to drinking. They had drunken together before, but it was usually just some wine at dinner. To be honest if the age difference wasn't there he wouldn't have thought anything of it. The age difference was there, though, which made him feel guilty as he watched his underage girlfriend knock yet another shot down._

_Hardy laughed, some-what impressed, "Yup, she's a keeper."_

_Aria rolled her eyes again and hoisted herself onto the bar stool, beer in hand. She spun the stool so she could rest her back and elbows against the bar and Ezra finally let himself relax as he drank the shot in front of him, pursing his lips as the harsh liquid ran down his throat. He grabbed the beer and leaned against his side next to Aria._

_Hardy did the same as he leaned against the bar to the other side of Aria, "So, California? You guys are really moving out together?" he asked curiously._

_"Yup," Aria confirmed, turning her head and grinning to Ezra, "I'll be attending college there in the fall."_

_Hardy nodded, "And you?" he asked, directing the question to Ezra._

_Ezra lowered his eyebrows in confusion._

_"What are you doing in California?"_

_"Oh... Um," Ezra glanced around. He hadn't thought about what he was going to do, granted the harsh truth was that he didn't really need to, but still. He was going because he knew it was what Aria wanted, and because he knew it was what he wanted, "I guess I haven't given much thought to it," he admitted, "I'll figure something out."_

_"Well good luck," Hardy raised his recently refilled shot glass, "To you two," he nodded towards them before tipping the shot back and letting the alcohol burn through his throat. He would never admit it out loud, but Hardy was truly jealous of Ezra as he watched the couple share a sweet kiss. He had warned Ezra about his relationship with Aria, who was both underage and at the time his student, out of pure concern for his best friend. When Ezra had stopped contacting him Hardy never felt bad because he was certain that the next time he saw Ezra it would be under the circumstances that Hardy had been right about the dangers of the relationship all along. He never expected to see Aria again, especially in Ezra's arms. It wasn't that he didn't feel happy for Ezra, because he did, but he felt guilty for not supporting something that was so clearly not a mistake. _ _Hardy was supposed to be looking out for his friend and it pained him to think that he had tried talking Ezra out of what seemed to be the best thing to ever happen to him. Ezra was the happiest he'd ever been and Hardy__  was jealous of him for finding something that he had thought before to never be p_ _ossible._

_Aria let out a whimper as Ezra parted from her mouth, "To us," he whispered then took a sip of beer, causing Aria to laugh and do the same._

__Empty bottles littered the bar where Hardy, Ezra, and Aria were located. The conversations during the night had started out good. Hardy and Ezra were given lots of time to catch up on what they had missed out on in each others lives, but as the minutes ticked on Hardy's ability to keep up was withering. Ezra had stopped after the single shot and beer, being named the designated driver since he wasn't liking the idea of leaving his car in Philadelphia for the night. Hardy, on the other hand, was gladly accepting his 5th beer from the bartender, not to mention the six shots of tequila he had taken prior. Aria was only on her second beer but after three shots the effects had certainly kicked in. Still, she _ _handled alcohol remarkably well for her small figure.___ _

_"You look good, Aria. You looked s-so good before but wow, you aged well," Hardy said sloppily as he leaned an elbow against the bar, nearly falling as he did so, "I mean **really** well. Ezra's a-," he slurred, pointing his finger at Ezra, "Y-You're a lucky guy, dude. Lucky, lucky..." he began repeating, more like singing, the word to Aria as she started to giggle._

_Ezra wrapped his arm around Aria's waist and pulled her close, pretending to keep her from falling but really just from feeling threatened as Hardy talked to her, "Okay, I think you've had enough," Ezra nudged to Hardy as his hold on Aria's waist stayed firm, but gentle._

_"We've only been here for, like..." Hardy managed to reply back as he tried counting the hours with his fingers._

_"Two hours," Ezra finished._

_Aria laughed and spun around to face Ezra so she could see his face, which was currently scowling at Hardy as he continued his attempts to "serenade" Aria._

_She leaned in so her mouth was close to his ear, "You've only had one beer, baby," she said in a low, husky voice that sent a chill down Ezra's body and directly to, well, "there", causing him to let out an involuntary groan. It certainly didn't help that she had both of her hands in the back pockets of his jeans pulling him closer._

_"But I'm driving back tonight," he reminded her, "And he," he nodded to the singing man behind her, "Has had about four too many."_

_"Right, sorry," she smiled and pressed her face into his chest, "We can go."_

_"Ezra," Hardy sighed shaking his head, "Always raining on the parade."_ **  
**

_Ezra shrugged away the comment as he helped Aria down. She was a little off balance as she began to walk but was sober enough to do it without Ezra's help. Hardy, however, nearly fell to the floor as soon as he picked his elbow up off the bar and Ezra quickly rushed to his side, soon followed by Aria. They helped him outside and leaned him against the side of the building as Ezra waved a cab over._

_He took off his jacket and draped it over Aria's shoulders before helping Hardy up from the building and taking him to the taxi, "You're gonna be alright tonight, yeah?" Ezra asked as he lowered Hardy into the backseat._

_Hardy nodded as he quickly mumbled the address to the driver. He turned back to Ezra and motioned for him to come closer, his face dropping to a far more serious look, "Does she know?" he asked warily, giving a glance back to Aria who was waiting patiently by the entrance._

_Ezra laughed it off, assuming Hardy was once again being delusional from the alcohol, "What are you talking about?"_

_"I've known you for a long time, Ezra," Hardy began, his voice dropping to little less than a whisper, "Just because we haven't talked doesn't mean I haven't been keeping track of the time. Your dad was just twenty-six when-"_

_"Everything okay?" Aria interrupted from the spot she'd been standing at._

_"Yeah, fine. It'll just be a second," Ezra called back to her before returning his attention to his friend, "No. She doesn't. I don't want her to-" Ezra stopped and looked back at_ _Hardy but he was gone again, struggling to get the seatbelt over his shoulder. Ezra sighed and closed the car door._

_"Don't be a stranger, Ezra!" Hardy yelled out the open window as the car drove off._

_Ezra smiled sadly hoping he would talk to Hardy once more before he left for California. Once he was there he knew that he would probably never get to see his friend again, but at least he got tonight, or at least some of tonight. He walked back over to Aria and offered his arm to her, "Ready?"_

_Aria wrapped her arm around his and nodded, "What was Hardy talking to you about?"_

_Ezra shrugged, "Who knows?" He laughed._

_She chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. No judgement from passing strangers, no whispering, no harsh looks. _Aria and Ezra shared the same feeling of excitement as they walked._ Just a couple more weeks and this would be their life._

* * *

**_July 5th, 2013_ **

_It was just past one in the morning as Ezra stepped into the apartment with Aria on his back, she had claimed her legs were tired when they got out of his car. She giggled softly when he let her down, shaking his head as he walked to the kitchen to get water. Aria continued walking to the bathroom, letting out a loud grunt as she took the pins out of her hair, "My hair is a total mess," she complained._

_"You're beautiful," Ezra argued from the kitchen as he retrieved a glass from the cupboard._

_"Really?" Aria poked her head out of the bathroom and raised her eyebrows at him._

_Ezra simply laughed as she returned to the mirror, sighing as she did so. He filled the glass from the sink and sipped slowly from it as he listened to Aria in the other room._

_"I'm sorry, I know I keep talking about California. I'm just excited, you know? Finally be able to hold your fucking hand without causing a scene..." she trailed off as Ezra tried to keep his attention on her. His hand started shaking and he set his glass on the counter in attempt to stop it. He released his grip on the cup and held the edge of the counter instead, trying to steady his balance. Aria's voice faded in and out as Ezra's head began to spin and ache. He closed his eyes trying to slow the world down as the shiver flowed through his hand and into his legs, causing them to shake uncontrollably. "Fuck, not now," he thought to himself as he brought his other hand up to his forehead, which was now burning hot, and opened his eyes, wincing from the pain pounding away in his head. He released his hand from the counter in attempt to reach for his glass when Ezra's body abruptly met the floor._

_"Ezra? What are you doing in there?" Aria called out as she halted from brushing her hair._

_He laid there, unable to reply or even move as his vision slowly faded to black._

__Aria gasped loudly as she exited the bathroom,_ "Ezra? Ezra!" she cried out hysterically as she saw her lover lying helplessly on the floor._

_He heard Aria's cries as she ran to where he was positioned on the floor before drifting away into unconsciousness._


	4. Chapter 4

**July 5th, 2013**

_It was almost 5:30pm and the sun was starting to set. Aria sat in the waiting room, still in Ezra's jacket from the night before, rubbing her hands raw as she awaited news on Ezra, who had been taken to emergency care as soon as they arrived nearly sixteen hours ago. She had stayed the entire day, sleeping for at least the early hours of her visit due to exhaustion. Now the only thing she could think about was her boyfriend and whether she would get to see him again._

_"Aria Montgomery?"_

_Aria looked up to see an older doctor smiling at her, "Yeah," she confirmed, quickly standing up and adjusting her shirt._

_"Hi, I'm Dr. Stevens," he pointed to the name badge on his chest, "You're here with Ezra Fitz, is that correct?"_

_Aria nodded, "Is he okay? Can I see him?"_

_"He's alive, yes."_

_Aria let out a sigh of relief, one that she had been holding in all day, "Where is he? What happened?"_

_"He's still recovering. They gave him some pain killers to help him sleep. Brain surgery takes a lot of time and recovery but it went well, he'll be okay," Dr. Stevens explained._

_Aria's eyes widened, "Wait, what?" she exclaimed, glancing around and quickly lowering her voice, trying to hide her panic, "Brain surgery? Why the hell did he need brain surgery?" Aria said in a harsh whisper._

_Dr. Stevens took a step back, surprised, "He didn't tell you?"_

_"Tell me what?"_

_"Well he... He had a hereditary brain tumor. Something his father had. We don't see it often but it can happen. The, uh, survival rates are very low. He's lucky," the doctor said cautiously, tapping his pen nervously on the clipboard._

_Aria lowered herself into her seat, mouth open, as she tried to process what she was being told, "I need to see him," she stated._

_"He's not conscious now, but you're welcome to sit with him. He needs to stay here in the hospital for a few days but don't worry, everything went perfectly fine, Miss Montgomery. Everything is..." he paused, "Well you can talk to him when he wakes up."_

_"Where?"_

_Dr. Stevens motioned for her to follow him and walked through the hall. Aria began to feel queasy as they passed by the different rooms. She never liked hospitals. Not because they weren't sanitary, but for some reason they gave her an uneasy feeling, one that made her want to turn on her heels and run. Ezra had always told her it was because she was in a place with so many struggling people that she couldn't help, and although she'd never admit it, he was probably right. She stayed closely behind Dr. Stevens, though, staring at the floor until he eventually stopped in front of what she assumed to be Ezra's room._

_"Ezra Fitz. Room 137," he said before opening the door for Aria, "Don't be afraid to call a nurse if you need anything."_

_Aria smiled politely, "Thanks," she muttered before entering the room._

_The door closed behind her and she stood frozen in place as she gazed at him lying peacefully in his bed. She would have thought he was dead if it wasn't for the minuscule movement of his chest as he breathed. She shivered as a chill ran up her spine. The room felt colder the closer she got to Ezra's side. She was angry, infuriated even as she stood next to him. She wanted to scream at him for lying to her, for letting her believe that everything was perfect. Most of all, she just wanted him to wake up. The doctor told her everything had gone fine but she wouldn't believe it until she saw it for herself. She sat down next to his side and brushed his hair off of his face, or what was left of it. Most of the back and top of his head had been shaved in preparation for surgery. Aria took his limp hand in hers and brought it up to her lips, kissing his knuckles softly as several tears started making their way to her eyes._

_"Please be okay. Please," she whispered into his hand._

_Aria awoke to a sunlit room, her hand still enclosed in Ezra's. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall above them. 8:30. She must have slept through the night._

_She heard a groan escape Ezra's throat as his hand tightened around hers, "Aria?" He mumbled quietly._

_She immediately stood up and hovered over him, caressing his cheek with her free hand, "Ezra, it's me. It's Aria."_

_His eyes fluttered open and his face lit up as he saw her above him, "So... What'd I miss?" he joked, his voice rugged and low._

_Aria ignored his comment, "Ezra, I-I could have lost you," she said, trying her best to limit her frustration with him due to his current state._

_"It's a good thing you're into older guys," he said weakly, pointing to the bald spot on his head as he flashed her a cheeky grin._

_Aria laughed, and she hated herself for it,_ _"That isn't funny," she said, returning to a straight face. It was something she both hated and adored about Ezra; his ability to make her laugh no matter where she was or what kind of trouble she was in. He had such a bright view of the world, one that she hoped to share someday._

_Ezra frowned, "I thought it was clever," he mumbled._

_Aria shook her head with disapproval, "You're an idiot," she teased, a smile reappearing on her face._

_"I may be an idiot," he began, "But at least I'm not in love with one."_

_She bent down and pressed her lips to his. For a moment she almost forgot that she was still furious with him, or that he had nearly died that morning. She still desired to yell at him but managed to hold herself back. For now, she was just happy that he was alive._

* * *

_**July 7th, 2013** _

_The day of Ezra's release from the hospital had arrived much quicker than Aria expected, especially for someone with his serious condition. Aria hadn't left his side. Her friends took turns bringing her meals and clothing, and no matter how many times Ezra tried to convince her to go home she refused, afraid that she could lose him._

_"No. Absolutely not," Aria said as she gripped the keys tightly in her hand, trying to keep them out of Ezra's reach._

_"Aria, I'm **fine** ," he assured her, reaching for her hand. **  
**_

_"Uh, no. There is no way I'm letting you drive home," she shook her head, lightly pushing him away._

_"Watch it!" he rubbed his chest where she had pushed him, "I'm fragile," he teased._

_"Which is exactly why you're not driving," Aria opened the passenger door and stepped aside for Ezra to get in._

_He let out a defeated sigh and climbed in, "You act as if I almost died or something," he laughed to himself then looked up to see Aria glaring at him. It didn't help her keep her anger towards him under control when he turned his near death into a joke._

_She rolled her eyes and slammed the door before walking over to the drivers side. The drive back to Ezra's apartment was dead silent. Aria fumbled with the radio trying to find a station, flipping through the channels faster than she could actually tell what was playing. Eventually she pressed the off button, letting out an annoyed sigh as Ezra glanced over at her, an amused look across his face. He always thought she looked cute when she was flustered._

_He opened the door to his apartment and Aria pushed past him, setting her things on the couch before placing both of her hands on her forehead, refusing to turn around._

_Ezra let out a deep breath, "Okay, what's going on? You seem upset-"_

_Aria spun around to face him and he could see the tears already welling up in her eyes, "How could you?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of Ezra's jacket, the one piece of clothing she had kept with her throughout his hospital visit._

_Ezra looked at her and lowered his eyebrows, "What?"_

_"A brain tumor? Does that ring a bell? A **fucking** brain tumor!" she yelled at him, several tears spilling down her cheek. _ _Aria tried to keep herself calm but was losing her composure fast. It took everything in her not to break down as she bit down on the inside of her cheek, "How could you not tell me? I-I knew about your dad but y-you have one too?" she asked, tripping over her words._

_Ezra shook his head, stepping closer to her, "Had," he corrected, "I had one. I'm perfectly fine now, Aria. There's nothing wrong-"_

_"You could have died! If something had gone wrong or if they couldn't get all of it... You can't do that to me, y-you can't fucking do that..." she trailed off._

_"But nothing went wrong," he said calmly._

_"It's not fair!" she cried out, surprising Ezra with the power in her voice, "I deserved to know!"_

_"I didn't want to worry you... I didn't want you waiting around for the day I dropped, I just... You shouldn't have to worry about something like that," he confessed._

_"You're so fucking selfish, Ezra. You can't keep things from me just so I won't worry about you," she spat back at him, "Nobody deserves to be told that their boyfriend has a brain tumor," she stressed on the last words as they still struggled to pass through her mouth. It all felt surreal in her mind. She couldn't quite wrap her mind around the fact that there had been only the slightest chance making it possible for her to be with him then._

_Ezra rolled his eyes, laughing softly at her desire to continue pointing out that yes, he did in fact have a brain tumor, "Stop saying it like that. It's not like it's the end of the world..."_

_She looked at him in shock._ _She didn't understand how he could be oblivious. He was her world, and without him she didn't know how she could survive,_ _"It could have been!"_

_"But it wasn't..." he added, reaching his hand out to wipe the tears from her face._

_Aria pushed his hand away and backed up, "No. No, don't."_

_"Baby... Please," Ezra pleaded, stepping forward._

_Aria didn't move away, but she kept her eyes glued to the floor, "I hate you."_

_"No, Aria-"_

_"No, Ezra," she snapped, " **You**  put me in this position.  **You** kept this from me," she turned away from him, "I hate you."_

_"Aria..." Ezra began, tears starting to fill his own eyes. He didn't know how to explain why he never told her, or why he didn't right then._

* * *

**_July 5th, 2013_ **

_Ezra opened his eyes slowly and looked around. Hospital. He turned his head as the door creaked open, Dr. Stevens peeking his head in, "Oh good, you're awake."_

_Ezra tried sitting up, wincing from the pain in his head, "My head..." he mumbled._

_"Take it easy, Ezra. Lay back down," Dr. Stevens ordered, pushing a button to the right of the bed increasing the dose of pain killers, "There's a girl out there for you, she's been here since this morning."_

_"Aria?" he glanced at the clock telling him it was a little before five, "Why is she still here?" He grew worried knowing how Aria disliked hospitals and felt awful for making her stay in one for well over half of her day._

_"I can get her now, if you'd like. If you want to hear the news together..."_

_Ezra looked Dr. Stevens in the eyes, "How bad is it, James?" he asked the man that had been Ezra's fathers doctor and Ezra's doctor ever since he developed the brain condition himself._

_Dr. Stevens shook his head, "I think you know."_

_Ezra sighed deeply, "Yeah..." he said. He remembered what James had said after his visit many months earlier. This was the warning, and after that it was only a matter of time, "How long?"_

_"They were able to remove some more of the tumor but... It's like your father we just- there's nothing else we can do."_

_"How long?" he demanded._

_"With any luck, you'll make it to the end of summer," Dr. Stevens explained as Ezra stayed silent,_ _"I'm sorry, Ezra. I'm really sorry," James said quietly, "We'll want to keep you here for at least a week."_

_Ezra shook his head._

_"You just had one hell of a surgery. We need to make sure everything is alright."_

_"What's the point? I can spend the days of my withering life sitting in a damn hospital or I can be out in the real world being with the people I love. Either way it doesn't change the inevitable. You know that."_

_"I'll see what I can do."_

_"Don't let Aria know," Ezra blurted out as his doctor began to leave._

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Please, just... Tell her nothing's wrong. Tell her everything went well," he pleaded, "Tell her I'm okay."_

_James hesitated and nodded in understanding before he walked out. Ezra felt relieved as the higher dose of medication began to run its course through his veins. He closed his eyes and dozed off, letting his dreams take him over. The only thing he could see was Aria._


	5. Chapter 5

_**July 25th, 2013** _

_"You coming?" Ezra asked, juggling three boxes on his arms as he walked out of the door and into the hall._

_"In a minute," Aria called back to him, still standing in the middle of the apartment, a single box held in her arms._

_He smiled and continued his way out of the building down to his car, settling the boxes carefully in the trunk, "She's got one more and then that's it," he said to Ella, nodding his head towards the apartment complex._

_Aria looked around the room that represented so many of their memories. She was beyond grateful to be moving on to the next chapter in her life with Ezra, but she couldn't help but feel that she was losing something in the process. This room, this apartment; it held precious moments that she wasn't ready to let go of just yet. The furniture itself was gone. Most of it had been packed up and sent ahead to California while the rest was boxed up in the trunk of Ezra's car, but it was the air that was filled with a sense of security. It was filled with the sweet sound of laughter at four in the morning, the irresistible scent of love and sweat as two bodies became one, the warmth of cuddling underneath a blanket watching old movies, even the icy chill of the spot where Aria had first seen Ezra's stiff body collapsed on the floor. The air was filled with a story. A story of two unexpected lovers who found each other during the worst of times, who fought for each other no matter how many obstacles the universe decided to throw at them. It was Aria and Ezra's story, something that couldn't be found within any kind of object, but a place. Apartment 3B. The place that gave safety when the whole world was plotting against them. The place that would soon become Aria's true home. She finally stepped out of the open doorway, giving one last sweep of the place with her eyes before turning and closing the door. She kept herself from looking back as she walked down the hall, focusing only on the new life she was going to share with Ezra in California._

_"There she is!" Ella exclaimed, walking to Aria and taking the box from her arms, "Is everything alright?" she asked, noticing the tears that had gathered in Aria's eyes._

_Aria smiled and nodded her head, wiping her face gently as a few tears trickled down her cheek, "Yeah, everything is perfect."_

_Ella lowered her brow, confused as to why Aria would be crying if nothing was wrong. Ezra, on the other hand, smiled back at her in understanding. He too felt the bittersweet loss of their sacred home as he looked back to the second window on the third floor. During the past few years no matter what Aria and Ezra went through they could always return to apartment 3B. As soon as they walked out that door for the very last time he knew that everything from that point on was unknown._

_"You two should get going, it's a long way to California. Three days to be exact," Ella reminded them, placing the last box in the car and closing the trunk._

_Aria nodded again, hesitating for a moment before asking a question she already knew the answer to, "Dad?"_

_Ella shook her head, "I'm sorry... I asked him to be here but-"_

_"It's fine," Aria replied. She had never gotten back on good terms with her father after how he dealt with Ezra. Things got really bad when he started dating Meredith again, who he defended even after the crazy bitch tried to kill Aria. Still, he was her dad, and that was supposed to count for something._

_"Mom... Please don't cry," Aria said, seeing the tears welling up within her mother's eyes._

_"I know, I know. I'm just going to miss my baby next year," Ella said, extending her arms to Aria who gladly walked into them._

_"I'm going to miss you so much, mom," Aria whispered, embracing her mother tightly before pulling back,_ _"I'll visit at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I promise. I'll be back before you know it."_

_Ella nodded, "I know you will."_

_Aria walked around the car to the passenger side, smiling to herself as she settled into the seat. The moments of weakness as they gave into their emotions, attacking each other with nothing but raw passion and love across the center console. The nights spent driving back from Philadelphia with her head on his shoulder as they listened peacefully to the radio, occasionally stealing a kiss or two. _At least she didn't have to let go of these memories.__

_"Please, take care of her," Ella whispered to Ezra as she hugged him._

_"I would never let anything hurt her, Ella."_

_Ella nodded as she released Ezra and he climbed into the drivers seat. They said their final goodbyes to Ella before driving off, leaving behind everything they'd ever known. They drove in silence as they passed through Rosewood. It wasn't the same eerie silence on the day Ezra was released from the hospital, though, it was a comfortable silence. Ezra glanced over to Aria who was staring out the window and reached for her hand that was resting on her lap, intertwining his fingers with hers._

_"Are you upset? That your dad didn't come?" He asked curiously, rubbing his thumb in light circles across the top of her leg._

_She looked away from the window and back at Ezra, "No," she said thoughtfully, "No... I guess I just expected that he'd show, you know?"_

_Ezra nodded and squeezed her hand, "I'm sorry, Aria."_

_"Don't be," she muttered shaking her head, "It's the own bastard's fault."_

_He laughed softly but he couldn't help but feel responsible. It was, after all, his relationship with Aria that separated her parents in the first place and caused the break in her relationship with her father. The fact that Byron was willing to lose the most incredible person in the world as a daughter baffled Ezra. He knew Aria deserved better, and _ _even if she was okay with it,__ it broke his heart that her own father didn't come to say goodbye._

_"So, what are we going to do stuck in a car for three days?" Ezra asked, quickly changing the subject._

_"I've got a couple ideas," Aria said, leaning across the center console letting him feel her breath on his neck._

_Ezra cleared his throat, "Do you want me to get us killed?"_

_Aria giggled and stayed in her place, moving his hand that was enclosed in hers higher along her thigh and laying soft kisses along the side of his neck. The hand that was gripping the steering wheel turned white as he took a sharp breath, "Seriously, Aria. If you don't stop I will literally crash the car."_

_"You're no fun," she whined softly into his ear, placing her hand on the left side of Ezra's face and pulling him to her._

_"We can have plenty of fun when I'm not in control of a 2-ton vehicle," Ezra replied, giving in to Aria's kiss before turning his full attention back to the road._

_Aria laughed quietly to herself and leaned her head against the door frame. The last thing she saw was the sign that read 'Rosewood Town Boundary' before closing her eyes and letting sleep take over._ _Ezra stole glances at Aria as she slept. She always looked so peaceful, her lips parted slightly and her body still. She was more than beautiful. Truthfully Ezra couldn't think of a single word that would do her justice, she was more than anyone could have ever dreamed of._

_Aria woke up just as they reached the outside of Pennsylvania, "How long was I asleep?"_

_"About five hours," he replied and gestured to the area around them with his arm, "Welcome to Ohio."_

_"Did you get lonely without me to keep you company?"_

_"Actually I was really enjoying the peace and quiet. Thanks for ruining it for me," he joked._

_"Oh, shut up," she mumbled, lightly punching Ezra's shoulder._

_He chuckled as he turned the car off of the highway._

_"Where are we going?"_

_"I'm starving," he explained, "It's already 2:30."_

_"Let's just get some fast food."_

_Ezra looked at her in surprise, "Wow... You must either be really hungry or really eager if you're willing to eat fast food."_

_Aria shrugged, "You promised we could have fun when we stopped for the night."_

_Ezra rolled his eyes, "I should have assumed this was only about my body," he teased, shaking his head, "And I thought you were different."_

_"Can you just shut up and get us some food?" She said, laughing._

_Ezra sighed, "As you wish."_

_"Where do you want to eat?" she asked. After_ _waiting a couple seconds for his reply she turned to him, only to realize that he had _ _sealed his lips shut, refusing to speak__ , "Are you seriously doing this right now?" Aria asked, staring at him in disbelief, "Ezra, you have got to be kidding me..."_

_Ezra smirked, still keeping his mouth shut, "That's it. I'm in love with a freaking six-year-old," she said, throwing her hands up and leaning back against her seat._

_"But you do love me," he finally said, trying to hold in his laughter as he leaned towards her, a smile stretching across his entire face._

_She exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes, "I don't know how, but yes," she muttered, "For some unknown reason, I love you."_

_Ezra shrugged, "It probably has something to do with my irresistible charm and the fact that I'm great in bed."_

_She put her elbow up on the side door and leaned her head against it, staring out the window, "You are the dumbest person in the world."_

_"I know," he grinned, "I love you, too."_

_The next eight hours of their trip passed by quickly, as time always did when they were together. Ezra was thankful for their time on the road together because he had no idea how things were going to work out in California. Yes, they were going to be sharing an apartment together, but she was also going to college. He couldn't expect her to not make new friends, and despite how much he wanted to be selfish and spend every moment of his shortening life with her, he knew that in time she would have to learn to live without him, and it would be much easier if she already had people in her life when he was gone. It was a morbid thought, but one that would inevitably become true. Ezra couldn't control time and he certainly couldn't control death. It was just past eleven when he pulled into the parking lot of a Comfort Inn; the first motel he had seen since entering St. Louis. He was exhausted from the nearly fourteen hour drive but Aria was still wide awake._

_"A single room for the night, please," Ezra said over the counter, sliding his credit card over the surface._

_"Ezra..." Aria began as the man left to fetch their room key._

_He looked back at Aria, "What?"_

_"You're paying the rent for our apartment I think I can manage the motel fees."_

_Ezra smiled and kissed her quickly before the man from the counter returned, "Don't worry about it."_

_Aria eyed him suspiciously, unaware that by the end of summer everything he had would be hers. His family didn't need any help, nor did he really feel like giving them any after all his mother had done, which meant that he left everything to Aria._

_"Thanks," Ezra said, taking the key from the man's hand. He handed it over to Aria and grabbed both of their bags before heading to their room for the night. She held the door for Ezra as he entered and settled the bags at the foot of the bed._

_The door closed behind her as she flipped on the lights, "Not bad," Aria noted as she glanced around the room._

_Ezra nodded in agreement, "Beats sleeping in the car," he added, kicking off his shoes as Aria did the same. Ezra unzipped his bag and took out a pair of plaid pajama pants while Aria grabbed one of his shirts, "I believe that's mine," Ezra called after her, laughing as she left for the bathroom._

_Ezra pulled his dark red shirt over his head, exposing his chest, and changed out of his jeans while Aria wiped the makeup off of her face. She undressed herself and slipped his t-shirt over her small body, releasing her hair from the bun it had been in all day as she walked back into the main room. Ezra was already laying in bed on his back with the lights off, his eyes closed as Aria climbed in next to him and pressed her body against his, kissing his neck lightly. Ezra groaned and turned himself over, keeping his eyes shut and covering the back of his head with a pillow._

_Aria giggled and ran her fingers along his spine, "No fair, you promised," she whimpered._

_"I don't think so," he mumbled from beneath the pillow._

_"Well if I recall correctly, you are no longer in control of a 2-ton vehicle," she teased, letting her eyes wander over the sight of his bare back._

_"I'm exhausted," he complained._

_"I'm not tired at all," she said, giggling again._

_Ezra lifted his head, causing the pillow to fall to the side, "Maybe because you got to take a five hour nap."_

_Aria took the opportunity and pressed her lips to his, pulling the back of his neck to her and moving underneath him. She smirked as he gave in, shifting his weight on top of her and pulling back to look into her eyes. He didn't think he could ever get enough her. His hands gripped her hips as he bent down to kiss and suck on her neck, causing soft moans to escape her lips. Her fingers knotted into his hair and his hands moved to her waist revealing a few inches of skin below her belly button. She gripped onto his hair tighter from the new skin to skin contact, an action that caused Ezra's head to ache and he gasped at the sudden pain._

_Aria loosened her fingers around his curls, "Sorry," she mumbled, moving one of her hands to grip the sheets._

_Ezra relaxed although the stinging remained. He tried to let it be overshadowed by the feeling of his girlfriend sucking on his neck as her fingers played with his waistband, but it was still there. It was a loud reminder of his ticking clock. One that proved even in the best moments, there could only be one ending._


	6. Chapter 6

_**July 27th, 2013** _

_"Babe wake up."_

_Aria groaned and pulled the covers over her head, "No."_

_Ezra chuckled, "We have to be on the road by six."_

_She poked her head out and furrowed her brow, "What time is it?"_

_"Five-thirty."_

_Aria groaned again and brought the sheets dramatically back over her head, "Why are we leaving so early?" she whined._

_"Do you know how bad LA traffic is on Fridays? Plus, we've got a long drive." Ezra reminded her. They had stopped in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the night after the long fifteen hour drive from St. Louis but it was still at least twelve hours before they would get to LA._

_Aria sighed, throwing the covers off of her body and sitting up. She looked at Ezra for the first time all morning. He was standing to her side and she was quick to realize that he was completely naked, except for the towel covering the lower half of his body. His hair was still wet from the shower and small drops of water fell onto his body and the floor. She admired the sight of his bare chest, letting her eyes linger to the top of his towel._

_Ezra cleared his throat, "Enjoying the view?"_

_"Actually..." Aria smiled at him mischievously, sitting up on her knees so that she was level with him. She leaned in and pushed her lips against his causing an involuntary moan to fall from Ezra's mouth. She let her fingers play with the curls in his hair as she kissed him before slowly trailing her mouth down his neck and onto his chest._

_Ezra took a step back, laughing, "Aria, no. We have to leave," he protested._

_She frowned, her lips forming into a pout as she fell back down on the bed._

_He laughed again to himself, "That's not going to work."_

_She bit her lip, an action she knew drove him crazy, and looked up at him innocently as she reached out and brought her fingers to rest just above the towel, "Come on..."_

_Ezra shook his head, "You really are a college student. We have to get dressed."_

_Aria sighed, "Right... I guess I'll just have to find a college boy who can-"_

_"Don't even joke about that," Ezra warned._

_"Or what?" Aria asked, smirking._

_Within a second Ezra's lips were on hers and he mentally kicked himself for giving in, again. They were not going to be leaving at six._

_Ezra let out a frustrated sigh as he tapped his fingers restlessly on the wheel. He pulled the car forward a few feet then brought it to a stop, just like every other car on the road around them._

_"I hate you," he mumbled underneath his breath as he pulled a couple inches forward and came to another stop._

_"Don't blame me!" Aria said, laughing at the frown planted on his face._

_"This is entirely your fault."_

_"It's a Friday and we're driving to LA, it was going to be horrible no matter what," she argued, "Plus I think the extra hour was worth it, don't you?"_

_"Still hate you," he said, a smile creeping slowly to his lips._

_"No, you love me."_

_"No, I hate_   _you," he emphasized, still smiling._

_Aria laughed quietly and smiled back at him, reaching over the center console to take his right hand in her left. Her other hand joined as she brought his hand up to her mouth and pressed her lips against the backside of his palm, keeping it there against her lips for a few seconds before lowering their hands back down to her lap. The car came to a full stop again and Ezra looked over to Aria who was staring out of the front windshield. His heart ached at the idea of losing her; he couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her face when he woke up in the morning. Although he knew that he wasn't going to be the one suffering once it was all over, the pain in his chest now made him feel like he was going to explode at any minute, his heart unable to contain the fountain of emotions building up inside of him. It was enough to make him cry, and he probably would have had Aria's playful voice not snapped him out of it._

_"Ezra? You can go now," she said looking over at him with her eyebrows raised. She laughed when she saw him staring at her and shook her head, "Go!" she said, still giggling._

_He turned his head back to the road, quickly moving forward before anyone behind him got angry._

_They eventually arrived to their apartment in West LA at nine-thirty that evening. Their apartment was located on the third floor of the complex, apartment C since B had not been available. It wasn't much larger than Ezra's old one in Rosewood but neither of them minded. They both kind of preferred sharing the small space. There was no need for extra rooms to hide away in when they needed to be apart from each other; even when they needed to work quietly they still enjoyed being in the presence of the other. Even when they fought they still wanted to see each other, despite refusing to speak. Aria's mind flipped back to the time when he told her he was going to leave her and take another job, telling her that he was giving up on their relationship, and still she ate dinner at his apartment that night. They sat silently across from one another, each feeling angry and frustrated but not wanting to do so alone. No matter how bad it got they both knew the anger they felt was nothing compared to the despair and emptiness they felt apart._

_Ezra fumbled with the key in one hand while he balanced a few of the boxes from the back of his car in the other. He opened the door to their new home, which was already littered with boxes at the moment since most of their belongings had traveled earlier and were already present when they arrived. Luckily, Ella had paid extra for the movers to bring every box into the apartment when they got there, along with the larger furniture. Ezra let Aria go in first then soon followed, carefully setting the boxes he carried down before going back for the rest. A few trips later, every box was unloaded from Ezra's car and scattered somewhere on the floor along with the rest of them._

_Ezra closed the door and let out a long sigh, "You know we have to unpack all this right?" he said, looking around at the numerous boxes lying at their feet and placing both hands on his hips._

_Aria nodded, "Yeah, but I also know something that's already set up," she nodded towards the bed and took a step towards Ezra with a sultry smile planted on her face._

_Ezra raised his eyebrows and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Okay, what's going on?"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Aria, you know how much I'd love to christen the new place, but we both know that you've been more..." he trailed off, unsure of a polite way to say more sex-crazed than usual - something that ideally he didn't mind but now gave him the sense that something was troubling her._

_Aria slumped her shoulders in defeat, "I know its just..." she began, moving her hands up and down the sides of his arms, "I'm scared," she admitted, "Finally I can be with you without any threats to our relationship but I still always have this feeling in my stomach like the rug is about to be ripped out from underneath my feet. I don't know what's going to happen to us, and with me starting college and us finally living together... I can't control the future but we can control right now. I don't ever want to let you go," she finished in a whisper, leaning her face into Ezra's chest._

_Ezra pulled her closer to him, as close as she could be, "Don't worry about the future, Aria. Nothing will happen to us," he assured her, lying through his teeth._

_"Promise you'll stay with me for the rest of forever?" she asked weakly. She almost felt pathetic asking the question but she needed to know for sure. She needed to be able to leave through the door knowing that no matter what happened in the future he would be there when she returned. She needed to hear him say it out loud._

_Ezra struggled not to cry as he lowered his mouth to her ear, "Aria Montgomery, I will stay with you for the rest of my life. I promise."_

_Aria looked up at him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. They were tears of joy, though, as she thought of the future they would have together. Aria knew it would happen eventually but t _hey both agreed that marriage wasn't going to be on the table for awhile. Aria was still so young and t_ ruthfully neither of them felt it was necessary. Despite Ezra's obvious reasons, their love was something that didn't need any kind of physical proof. They just knew._

_Ezra couldn't help but smile as he looked back at her. He didn't know what he was smiling for exactly, he just knew that in that moment he was nothing but happy._

_Aria giggled as she saw his signature boyish smile. It was the kind of smile that always made her feel light and happy inside even in the darkest circumstances. It was the kind of smile that made her fall in love all over again each time she saw it. "Stop that," Aria said, another giggle escaping her lips._

_"Stop what?" Ezra asked curiously, still smiling._

_"That!" she said and lightly hit his arm. "Stop smiling like that!" she clarified, attempting to cover his mouth and face with both her hands._

_Ezra let out a chuckle as her hands hovered over his face. He took her arms in his hands and lowered them so he could see her face, "I can't help it. You make me happy," he said as he shrugged._

_Aria shook her head and smiled, rising up on her toes and giving him a chaste kiss before going to change for bed._

_Ezra and Aria lay down on the bed facing each other as Ezra brushed his fingertips soothingly through her hair. Her right hand rested lightly on his chest while her other rested underneath her head._

_"This is really happening, isn't it? We're really moving into an apartment together, in California," Aria said softly._

_"Yeah... Yeah it is," Ezra said with a small smile._

_Aria dropped her eyes from his gaze and chewed on her bottom lip, "Did you ever think we weren't go to make it? I mean, back in Rosewood. I know we always had our doubts but was there ever a moment when you truly believed that we were done? That in the middle of all the struggles and obstacles we would find a way to move on and fall in love again?"_

_Ezra raised his eyebrows as he processed her sudden and unexpected questions, "No and yes."_

_"That's a nice answer," she said dryly._

_Ezra rolled his eyes as he laughed lightly, "There was the time during your senior year when we were apart. You started seeing that Jake guy and I... I thought maybe you were moving on. For a moment I truly believed that you would find love again, but I knew that I would never be able to."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_He stopped running his hand through her hair and moved it to her face, brushing his thumb against her cheek softly, "I never used to believe in soul mates, but being with you made me sure. _There's no one else out there for me_ ," he whispered to her, "You're the one."_

_Aria looked up at him and gave him a half-smile, "Ezra, there are multiple ones for us."_

_Ezra laughed and shook his head, "Nope, not for me. You're my one and only."_

_She smiled again. _Of course there had to be multiple soul mates for everyone, she thought, otherwise people would spend forever just trying to find that special someone. Nevertheless, Aria understood exactly how Ezra felt. She'd been told since she was a little girl that there were many people out there meant for her, but she could never imagine living her life with anyone else. Even if she did have multiple ones for her, she could only ever want Ezra.__

_"There was a time for me too," she whispered, "When you found out about Maggie and Malcolm. You loved him so much and you would have been such a good father. It was the moment when Maggie came over with Malcolm and I looked at the three of you together and- and you looked like a family. I didn't belong in that picture. Even when you told me that you wanted me to be in every part of your life I knew that I didn't fit."_

_"I love you Aria," he said softly. Even though it was in the past, Ezra hated the idea of Aria feeling unwanted or out of place in his life. He meant what he had said. He really did believe that she was the only person for him even if she refused to believe it herself. If he didn't have Aria in his life he would surely spend the rest of his numbered days alone._

_She scooted in closer to Ezra so the fabric of her t-shirt (Ezra's shirt if you wanted to be technical) was pressed against his bare chest and their foreheads touched. She gave him a long and tender kiss then they pulled apart slowly, their lips hovering only a centimeter away from each other. "I love you too, Ezra," she whispered back, giving him another kiss. After another short moment Aria bent her head down and buried her face in his chest, letting herself melt against his body, "I love you so much," she muttered against his skin._


	7. Chapter 7

**_August 7th, 2013_ **

_Aria's eyes fluttered open to see Ezra gazing at her._

_"Good morning, beautiful," he whispered, smiling and tucking a piece of her hair gently behind her ear before letting his hand rest on her neck._

_Aria groaned softly and smiled back, "Morning."_

_She brought her hand up and set it on top of Ezra's, rubbing her thumb across the back of his palm before lifting it from her neck. She sat up and bent her head down to give him a light kiss on his forehead then she stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Aria shivered as the cold air wrapped around her legs and she suddenly wished Ezra's shirt went farther than just above her mid thigh. Ezra watched as she dragged her feet and yawned. He chuckled to himself when he heard her curse under her breath from nearly walking into the counter. She quickly prepared coffee for the two of them and turned the machine on before walking back towards Ezra. She dressed into a fresh pair of jeans and a loose gold printed tank top before moving to the bed._

_"What are you smiling about?" she asked as she crawled back into bed beside him._

_He hadn't even noticed the grin across his face as he stared up at the ceiling, "I don't know," he answered, but he did know, he was thinking about her. He turned to face her, "When do you get off work today?"_

_"My shift ends at one."_

_He nodded as if he were contemplating something, "I'll come by then and we can go do something?"_

_She nodded and smiled, "Sure. What are you gonna do until then?"_

_Ezra shrugged, "Probably read or something."_

_"Doesn't that editing job you got start up soon?" she asked as the coffee maker began to beep. She got up and walked back to the kitchen, this time Ezra following her as he pulled a pair of pajama pants over his boxers._

_He licked his lips nervously as she got two mugs out of the cabinet, "Yeah about that... It was pushed back for a couple months. I won't be starting until January of next year," he replied cautiously. Truthfully Ezra had forgotten all about the job since he had never really taken it in the first place. He wasn't in the position to be committing to anything, but he didn't need Aria knowing that._

_"Ezra..." Aria began as she poured their coffee._

_He rolled his eyes as he made his way to the fridge, "What?" he asked, taking out the half and half and setting it on the counter._

_Aria put her mug down and stepped towards him, "Ezra, Hardy was right. What are you going to do here? You need a job."_

_"I'm fine," Ezra insisted, "I can take care of myself."_

_"I know you can, but I'm allowed to be worried about you," Aria said._

_"There's nothing to worry about. I'll start work in January."_

_"What are you going to do for five months? I'll be starting school which means I can't work as much and what will you be doing? Sitting around waiting for me to get home?"_

_I probably won't be doing anything, Ezra thought morbidly to himself before shaking it out of his mind, "Aria, what is this really about? Are you worried about money?"_

_"No," she said quickly, shaking her head, "I just don't want you to be hanging here by yourself all the time, okay?"_

_"Okay, I-"_

_"I'm gonna be late. I'll see you at one," Aria snapped as she grabbed her phone and wallet, pulled on her sandals, and made her way hastily to the door._

_"Love-" the door shut as Ezra finished his sentence, "you..."_

_He looked into her untouched mug of coffee before glancing at the clock. 8:15. It was a five minute walk and she didn't start work until nine. Ezra sighed as he dumped the contents of her mug into the sink and finished fixing his own cup. He made himself comfortable on the couch as he sipped on his coffee, looking proudly at the apartment he and Aria shared. Everything was now unpacked and it was starting to truly feel like home. Their home. The thought was enough to make Ezra smile again and he leaned his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes and letting his sudden exhaustion take over._

_Ezra's eyes shot open as he realized he had fallen asleep. The coffee in the mug he was still holding jumped over the side when he twitched and landed on his thigh, thankfully it was now room temperature. Ezra mumbled a few curses under his breath at the stain that would probably end up on his pants as he set the mug on the table in front of him and looked at his phone. 1:15 - one missed call from Aria._

_"Fuck!" he muttered as he got up and began dialing Aria. After the way she left in the morning he didn't want to give her any more reasons to be upset._

_"Ezra?"_

_"Aria, I'm so sorry! I fell asleep, I didn't mean to. I'm coming right now-"_

_"Ezra, relax. I called earlier to let you know I wouldn't be done until 1:30 today."_

_Ezra let out a big sigh of relief, "Okay, good..."_

_Aria laughed, "Okay I have to get back to work. See you in fifteen minutes, don't go back to sleep," she teased before hanging up._

_Ezra still felt guilty. What if she didn't have to work late that day? He couldn't remember ever being this tired before. It was getting worse like the doctor said it would, but now his drowsiness was potentially threatening his relationship with Aria. He knew he should tell her the truth, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted his last moments with Aria to be real. _He didn't want the last possible months of them together to skip through the passion that made their relationship so irresistible in the first place. He didn't want her to be careful around him. _He needed her to pull roughly on his hair even though it hurt. He needer her _to yell at him when she felt like she had to. He needed everything; the screams, the kisses, the silence, the sex, the tears, the laughs, the anger, the happiness... all of it. _It was the combination of everything that made them so right for each other._____

_Ezra quickly changed out of his pajama pants into a pair of jeans and pulled a dark grey t-shirt over his head before nearly running out of the door. He came to the small coffee shop where Aria worked at exactly 1:30 and stepped inside. She was just taking off the blue apron she wore for her uniform as she saw him enter. She hung the apron up behind the counter and said goodbye to her boss and a fellow co-worker as she made her way to Ezra. She greeted him with a smile and a chaste kiss on the lips before grabbing his hand and lacing his fingers through her own._

_"I'm sorry about this morning," she said as he held the door open for her and allowed her to walk outside._

_"Aria, it's alright," he assured her, waving his hand._

_"No, it's not. You were right. I am worried," she said as they walked through the warm, end-of-summer air together._

_Ezra nodded in understanding, "It's going to be okay, Aria. We're going to be fine."_

_"I know, I know. It's just scary, you know? I mean maybe not for you but, this is the first time I've ever been on my own. It's the first time I'm really taking care of myself and I just... I want everything to go perfectly," Aria said softly, staring at the ground as it moved beneath her feet._

_"Hey," Ezra stopped on the edge of the sidewalk and lifted her chin up with his free hand, "I'm scared too. Do you know what your dad would do to me if anything happened while you were here with me?" Ezra asked with a playful grin._

_Aria giggled softly, "Ezra..."_

_"I'm kidding," he said with another grin, "But I'm still scared," he added with a much more serious tone._

_"Of what? You've done this before. You've been to college and even worse you were by yourself. At least I have you. You've done this 'adult responsibilities' thing before."_

_"Aria, anyone who has me to deal with along with going to college has it a lot worse than being on their own," he joked again, bringing a smile out of Aria, "Yeah I've been to college before but it's different this time. Try moving across the country with your girlfriend who will now be surrounded by thousands of younger, better-looking guys every day."_

_Aria giggled again at his comment, "Ezra, I'm trying to be serious."_

_"Okay, I'm sorry. But it is scary for me too, Aria. This is the farthest I've been from home and everything is finally coming together for us. I want it to be perfect too," he admitted and pressed his lips gently against her forehead, "You haven't eaten yet, have you?" he asked, changing the subject. Understandably so, the future was a rather sore topic of discussion for him._

_Aria shook her head in response._

_"Well then let's get some food. I'm starving," he said as he began walking again._

_On their way to a nearby deli Aria began to laugh quietly._

_"What's so funny?" Ezra asked as he glanced over to his girlfriend who was chuckling to herself._

_"Nothing, I was just thinking... I know it was like this whenever we went to Philly but here it's so different. I guess in Philly we knew we'd always have to go back to Rosewood but now, it can just stay like this."_

_Ezra lowered his brow, "What are you talking about?"_

_Aria smiled again, this time looking up to meet Ezra's questioning look, "No stares," she said._

_He was confused for a moment longer before finally catching on to what she was saying. People on the street didn't stare as they walked by hand in hand. To everyone else they were just an average couple on their way to enjoy a nice lunch. She was right about how it was different. Sure they had those precious moments away from Rosewood where they could go out without being questioned but even then there was always the reminder that eventually they would have to return to all of the whispers. As they walked down the street now they were no longer tied to the place they once knew as home. There was nothing looming over their heads telling them that the judgement-free time they had was limited. That time was now endless, or somewhat endless. Ezra didn't have the luxury of dreaming that big but Aria, Aria felt infinite._

_"I'll get a table outside for us," Aria said as they stepped inside of the small deli._

_"You want the caesar wrap, right?" Ezra asked, although it wasn't much of a question. She always ordered that._

_This time however, she shook her head slightly, "No, get me the veggie sandwich," she corrected before releasing his hand._

_Ezra scratched the back of his neck; she always got the caesar wrap, "I thought-"_

_"Lucas says it's to die for," she said with a shrug._

_Ezra nodded, "And Lucas is...?"_

_"My co-worker, silly. I've told you about him before," she said before wandering off to find them a table._

_Ezra scrunched his face at what she said. He could swear he'd never heard her say the name Lucas anytime she talked about work. That was another side effect of his condition, memory loss. It wasn't anything serious but just like the headaches and the exhaustion it came and went as it pleased._

_"Next!" the cashier called out._

_Ezra stepped forward, "One veggie sandwich and a chicken caesar salad, please."_

_"Jalapeños on the sandwich, sir?"_

_"Yes please," he said almost in pain. He never understood how Aria liked those things, "And two waters."_

_"That'll be $15.43," the cashier said as Ezra handed him a $20, "Here's your change and your water. We'll bring your order out to your table once it's ready. Thank you."_

_"Thanks," Ezra said politely before stuffing the change back into his wallet and taking the water glasses in his hands._

_He set the water cups down on the table before sitting down across from Aria, "So, how was work?" he asked._

_She gulped down some water before speaking, "Nothing special. I had to stay late because they were down a worker and it gets pretty busy at that time."_

_"Any chance you can bring those barista skills into our apartment? As much as I adore cheap and shitty coffee..." Ezra trailed off._

_Aria laughed and leaned against the back of her chair, "Yeah, as long as you don't mind a giant, industrial-sized coffee maker taking up half of our kitchen."_

_Ezra grinned and leaned over the table, "Maybe I'll just head over to your work and get the employee discount."_

_She leaned across to meet him and pecked him on the lips before being separated by the waiter holding their meals._

_"Here's the salad," he said, placing the plate in front of Ezra, "And here's the veggie sandwich," he said as he placed the second plate in front of Aria. "Enjoy."_

_Aria smiled at him and turned back to Ezra as the waiter walked away. He was already digging into his salad and she was unaware that he had slept through both breakfast and lunch. She picked up her sandwich and brought it to her mouth, taking a small moment to inhale the delicious scent before biting down. Just as she was about to close her mouth and take a bite she caught of whiff of something familiar. She gasped quietly and dropped the half sandwich she was holding back onto the plate before she began lifting up the bread and examining the contents inside._

_"Ezra? Are there jalapeños in this?" she asked sounding worried._

_"Yeah..." Ezra said hesitantly, "You always get them in your sandwiches," he replied._

_"Yeah, until almost a year ago when I became deathly allergic!" she said in disbelief._

_Ezra's jaw dropped slightly and he let an inaudible gasp fall from his lips. How could he forget? He had been there when she first discovered the newly formed allergy. How could he have possibly not remembered that? Ezra snapped himself out of his own head and focused on Aria._

_"I'm so sorry, I-I must have forgotten or something. I don't know why I did that, I-I'm sorry," Ezra muttered, growing increasingly more flustered._ _He grabbed the plate in front of Aria and brought it inside and when he returned his face was shockingly pale and he was cursing to himself under his breath. "They're bringing out a new one, I'm so sorry babe," he apologized again as he sat down, his fingers tapping nervously on the table._

_Aria watched her boyfriend with curiosity. She wondered why he was acting so strange about something as stupid as forgetting she was allergic to jalapeños. Maybe not stupid, considering her life was potentially threatened but still it was such a small detail yet Ezra seemed to act as if it was the end of the world._ _She reached above the table with both of her hands and set them on top of his._

_"Relax, Ezra. Really, it's nothing."_

_"You could have died! I'm such an idiot," he mumbled to himself._

_Aria tried to comfort him but didn't know how. Maybe if she knew the real reason why Ezra hadn't been able to remember she would be able to understand why he was so worried about it._

_"Here, sorry for the confusion," the waiter said as he placed the new sandwich in front of Aria and quickly walked away._

_Ezra's eyes stayed locked on the table and Aria reached her hand over and cupped Ezra's cheek, forcing him to look her in the eyes, "Stop doing that."_

_"Doing what?" he asked, staring into her beautiful eyes that seemed to make all the horrible things he was feeling disappear into the air._

_"Beating yourself up about this. It's no big deal. I'm not hurt. Just forget about it, Ezra," she said softly before removing her hand from his face and beginning to eat the food in front of her._

_She broke eye contact but her words continued to ring through his head as he stabbed his fork numerous times into his salad. 'Just forget about it, Ezra.' He may not have a choice. He looked up when he heard a soft moan come from Aria's throat. He raised his eyebrows at her and she giggled when she met his eyes._

_"Lucas was right, this is really good," she said, hinting towards the sandwich._

_"As long as it doesn't replace me," he teased at the noise she made earlier._

_"If you keep that up it just might," she teased back with a smirk._

_Ezra shook his head and chuckled as he continued poking at the small pieces of lettuce left on his plate, wondering just how lucky he was to have walked into Snookers Bar that fateful day._


	8. Chapter 8

_**August 20th, 2013** _

_Ezra lazily sat on the couch, once again alone for the day. Aria was out with a group of people she'd been meeting with over the past week. They were all people who would be attending college with her in the fall and she had met them through Lucas, the sophomore who also happened to be her coworker. Maybe Ezra should have been more concerned than he actually was about where her attention was now being focused but he couldn't find the energy to be jealous. He needed to channel all of his existing life into one thing: loving Aria. He understood why she was blowing him off to meet with her new friends and in fact he even encouraged it. He had wanted her to have a real college experience, one that didn't involve spending her time holed up with her older boyfriend from high school in their apartment._

_After the incident of almost killing his girlfriend, Ezra began taking extra precautions to ensure that he couldn't forget things anymore. He began writing everything down and as tedious as it was, it worked. The voice in the back of his head was still demanding that he tell Aria the truth, but every time he thought he should he backed out. The flexibility and impulsiveness of their relationship was just too precious to give up. No doubt Aria would be spending every single moment with him if she knew, and maybe that was what she should be doing, but Ezra couldn't bear to see her give up her life just to worry about his._

_Aria fumbled with the key as she balanced two coffees in her right arm; one in her hand and the other held between her forearm and chest. The door to the apartment opened and she walked in, tossing her purse and keys on the counter and shifting one of the coffees into her other hand. She immediately took notice of a sleeping Ezra on the couch. She felt a pang of disappointment, maybe even guilt as she looked at him and the corners of her mouth turned downwards into a frown. Lately she was coming home to him asleep more often than not. She missed the days when she would walk through the door and be immediately greeted with a smiling Ezra accompanied with a sweet kiss. A particular sense of longing came as she thought of the days when that sweet kiss would turn into so much more. She remembered her back being pushed against the door and the incredibly forceful yet gentle kisses they shared as the desire from a day being apart began to kick in. It had been at least four or five days since Ezra had kissed her with a similar passion. Albeit, five days isn't long, for Aria and Ezra-who in the Rosewood days rarely lasted more than a few hours without such a kiss-five days felt like an eternity. Aria kicked the door shut much harder than she should have out of frustration. The noise caused Ezra to jolt awake and his eyelids were fighting exhaustion as he looked over to Aria._

_"Hey, you just get home?" he asked tiredly. He wanted to stand and greet her like he used to every time she came home to him but the dizziness he felt kept him seated._

_"Yeah," she replied, mustering up a fake smile. She walked towards the couch and practically slammed one of the coffee cups on the table in front of him, "Here. You seem to be needing some lately," she said with a certain edge in her voice that almost made her spit the sentence out._

_Ezra didn't touch the cup in front of him but instead took the one still in Aria's hand and set it softly on the table. He then grabbed her hands in his and pulled her down on the couch next to him, "Okay, what's wrong?"_

_"Nothing... It's just," she chewed her lower lip as she paused, "Most of the time I come home you're sleeping. I guess I'm just worried about you. I've never seen you so..." she paused. Bored didn't sound right but she couldn't seem to think of a better word. Instead she dropped the thought, "Before you used to write or read or teach in your free time and I can't help but feel like you regret coming here. I mean, I asked you to drop everything and move across the country with me but I never thought about what you wanted to do. Maybe you regret not accepting the job offer in New Orleans..."_

_"Aria..." he said with a slight laugh, "That was ages ago."_

_"But I hate seeing you like this, Ezra. I'm getting the college experience and you're stuck here alone to wait for me. Maybe if you hadn't followed me you'd be happier... You wouldn't sit around doing nothing all day like some pathetic-"_

_Ezra's heart stung as the word left her mouth. Is that really what she thought of him? That he was pathetic?_

_Aria's eyes widened too and she clamped a hand over her mouth, "No, wait. Ezra I-I didn't mean that. I'm sorry-"_

_"No, you did. It's alright. It's true," he said with a shrug. He was pathetic, but not for the reasons she thought._

_Aria shook her head, "No, it isn't. You know I don't think you're pathetic Ezra, I was just frustrated and angry... M_ _ostly at myself for letting this happen to you..."_

_Ezra almost blurted out that it was actually a tumor's fault, but he caught himself in time before he let it slip, "Relax babe. There is no other place in this world I would rather be than here with you. Not just in this moment, but here in California. I would follow you to the ends of the earth even if it meant I could never write again. I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm with you."_

_Aria opened her mouth to protest but Ezra cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, "No. I don't want to fight anymore. Please..." he whispered._

_She reached up and pulled his hand away from her face as she leaned towards him, eventually crashing her lips to his with a newfound sense of urgency. A soft moan escaped his lips as she slid his hand down the side of her body, making sure he felt her every curve through her lace top. She stopped when his hand reached her hip and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him deeper into their kiss. With her other hand she played with the hem of his shirt before letting her delicate fingers roam underneath it, slowly sliding up his bare back. He pushed his tongue past her lips and she smiled into his mouth as she let him through. Their hands explored each others bodies with a desperate but gentle feel and the sloppy yet thoughtful kisses he was planting along her neck and collarbone sent shivers down her spine. This was the passion she had been craving now for almost a week. This was the reason they had been able to fight through absolute hell and come out on the other side even stronger. They lost themselves so easily when they were together; with kisses that rendered their minds useless or loving stares that made them forget that around them the world was still turning. He pulled away for a moment so they could both catch their breath before they continued and just as Aria was thinking that things couldn't get any better, they got worse._

_Ezra tore himself away from her irresistible lips only for the purpose of letting them get some air. His heart was pounding against his chest and he could feel Aria's hot breath against mouth. He forgot how easily Aria could make the pain go away but just like that, as if the universe was playing a cruel, sadistic joke, he felt it again. The pounding now had left his chest and gone straight to his head. The image of Aria he held in his eyes was slowly beginning to grow dark around the edges and fade in. Ezra suddenly pulled himself completely away from her and blinked multiple times until the black smudges in his vision began to clear out. He still felt a slight ache in his head as he noticed the unavoidable sadness in Aria's eyes._

_"I-I'm sorry," he said softly as he placed his head between his knees, "I've just got a horrible headache..."_

_Maybe if Aria hadn't been so frustrated with him for the past few days she would have been more concerned, but instead she found herself struggling with the harsh feeling of rejection as she stood up and walked away from the couch without a word._

* * *

**_September 1st, 2013_ **

_Ezra was home alone, as usual. He did not have the same optimistic attitude towards it he normally did, though. Not because he was bitter about Aria hanging out with her friends from college; his views on that hadn't changed. He still felt grateful that she seemed to enjoy spending time with them more often. He still knew that having people she was already close to in her life would make it easier when he was no longer around, which brought him back to the real reason for his sorrow. Today was the first day of September, or more importantly, the first day of fall. As much as Ezra had denied the closeness and urgency of his situation there was no avoiding it now. Today marked the end of summer, and as Dr. Stevens so kindly pointed out, as of now Ezra should be considering himself lucky. But he didn't. It felt like today was the day when all the anger Ezra tried to keep inside over the course of the last few months was now exploding out of him. He wasn't lucky. Nothing about his situation granted the use of the word 'lucky'._

_It was around eleven at night when the realization hit Ezra that according to the medical sense of time he was running negative. He was expired, past his due date. It was also the same time that he finally let himself feel angry towards the misfortune thrust upon him and everyone he loved. It wasn't fair, he thought to himself. The voice in his head was screaming. Ezra Fitz wasn't ready to die. Of course, the reason that first came to his mind began with an A. Aria Montgomery, the love of his life and undoubtedly his soulmate. Despite how much he loved and cared for her, Ezra wasn't angry that he wouldn't be spending the rest of a long life by her side. If he was then he wouldn't have pushed her so hard to meet new people, he would have kept her all to himself. Instead, what Ezra found to be the hardest part of all this, was that he wouldn't be able to watch Aria progress in the wonderful life she had ahead of her. He'd rather do it as her boyfriend, but if by some horrid twist of fate (or perhaps remarkably smart decision by Aria) she had decided to end things, Ezra wanted to be around to see her succeed, even just as a friend. His heart sunk as reality set in. He didn't need to be her lover, but he wanted to see Aria graduate college with the familiar smile that made his heart melt as she threw her cap into the air. He wanted to see her making new friendships and he wanted to comfort her when old ones disappeared. He wanted to see the look on her face when she got her first job offer, or perhaps dry her tears at the first rejection. He wanted to watch her play delicately with the world as it stood on her fingertips. And although he would prefer to be the man standing at the end of the aisle, Ezra would take sitting in the pews if it meant getting to see Aria walk down the aisle in a white gown. He wouldn't get to see the one person he loved most in the world live, and that would always be what he resented most._ _Ezra tried to stop himself from reaching into his pocket and digging out his phone. He tried holding his fingers back as they dialed her number. He was trying not to be selfish, but as the thoughts about his near end came flooding in he couldn't help it._

_Meanwhile, Aria sat with Lucas and five other students. Two of them were sophomores like Lucas but the other three were incoming freshman like Aria. She was laughing at something one of them said as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She checked the caller ID: Ezra Fitz. It didn't take her much time to decline the call and slip her phone back into her pocket before she rejoined the conversation. She would see him later. Twenty seconds later the buzzing returned and Aria let out a sigh before checking the ID again, not that she needed to. It once again read Ezra Fitz. She pushed out of her chair and met the questioning looks from her new friends._

_"I just have to take this," she explained pointing to her phone, "Sorry."_

_Lucas mouthed 'it's fine' and waved his hand towards her. Aria accepted the call and brought the phone up to her ear._

_"Hey, sorry. What did you call about?"_

_Aria asked the question and Ezra froze as he realized he didn't have an answer for her. Why did he call?_

_"Ezra?" Aria asked._

_"Right, sorry... I uh," Ezra panicked. Lately he couldn't make sense of a lot of his actions. His frantic eyes danced around the room until they stopped on an object sitting on top of their dresser. A necklace. He held it in his hand and his thumb ran smoothly over the skull pendant, "I just wanted to know what time you were coming home," Ezra said finally._

_He smiled sadly as he set the skull necklace back on top of the dresser. Ezra was nothing but a time-bomb and the constant throbbing of his head loved to remind him of that. The farther away he could get from Aria the less she'd be affected. Of course he wouldn't go as far as to leave her, but if it meant saving his 'I love you more than you could possibly ever know' speech for a different time then that's what he would do._

_"Oh, I think maybe at around," she paused and began mumbling something inaudible through the phone to someone near her, "Midnight, probably."_

_There was a long silence._

_"Ezra? You still there?"_

_The headache had returned and this time it felt more painful than ever before. His vision was blotchy again and he had to grab the dresser to steady himself so he didn't fall. The pounding against his skull was unbearable and he let out a sudden gasp of pain._

_"Ezra?" Aria asked, suddenly sounding worried._

_"I'm fine," he tried sounding normal but his voice was laced with pain and struggle._

_"Ezra what's going on?"_

_"Nothing," he said breathlessly as he gasped another time, this time a groan following._

_He heard her shouting to someone off of the phone saying she was going home._

_"Aria it's fine-" he tried reassuring her but the pain never left his voice. He didn't want to worry her._

_"I'm coming right now you sound awful-"_

_Ezra felt the muscles in his hand loosen and the phone fell from his grip onto the floor. _He felt nauseous. _'I just need to sit down' he thought. Aria's faint voice was still coming through the phone.___

_"Ezra what was that? Ezra? Are you there?"_

_He felt incredibly dizzy but he managed to move from the dresser to the bed and he sat on the edge with his head in his hands. He pushed against his head in an attempt to stop the aching. He was probably making it worse but for some reason it gave him comfort. He tried looking around to see if his sight was getting clearer. Bad idea. A strange sensation swept over Ezra as he felt his entire world fading to black._

_Something about the way Ezra was speaking made Aria's stomach feel sick. He didn't just sound pained he sounded hurt. Almost like whatever was happening was damaging his heart as well. _Aria was now extremely worried and on an impulsive decision decided to call an ambulance. Something, although she couldn't put her finger on it, was telling her that she should. Whatever it was, it was right.__


	9. Chapter 9

**September 2nd, 2013**

Aria stood watching him through the window as he laid peacefully on his hospital bed. The feeling of déjà vu immediately set in and her hands shook uncontrollably at her sides. Her breathing was quick and unsteady and her mind couldn't stop the constant echoing of the Doctor's voice in the back of her mind.  _There's nothing that anyone could have done. He might have a few hours before... I'm so sorry._  Aria knew it didn't do Ezra any good to stand outside but she couldn't bring herself to go in. She was worried she might break down completely. She licked her bottom lip and tasted the salty tears spreading across her tongue as she remembered what he said to her when he came back from the hospital in Rosewood.  _I'm perfectly fine now, Aria. There's nothing wrong._ That was enough for her to open the door. She needed answers.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she walked slowly into Ezra's room. He smiled weakly at her as she neared his bed and carefully sat beside him. Ezra reached his hand to her face, wiping away the tears from her cheek. She was always so strong, even as she cried, and that was one of the things he admired so much about her. He was not strong, especially now. He felt small compared to her, almost like he was a small child again but without his youthful innocence. The world wasn't perfect like his childhood once had him believe. The loss of his father followed by years of failed romance and horrible family tension opened his eyes to the imperfect world he was a part of. But now he could feel some of that innocence returning, and Ezra was finishing his life with the only perfect thing he knew could possibly exist in this imperfect world. Aria.

Aria placed her hand over Ezra's and pulled it away from her cheek, moving it closer to her lips as she dropped her eyes to her lap. She gently kissed the tips of his fingers then pressed his palm over her heart. She held it there, enjoying the warmth of his skin against her chest through her shirt. It relaxed her although Ezra could still feel the unsteady and quickened pace of her heart beating against his hand. Aria took a deep and shaky breath as she lightly squeezed his hand.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly.

Ezra sighed deeply and dropped his hand from it's place over her heart, letting it rest in her lap.

"And if you say it's because you didn't want me to worry about you, I swear to god Ezra I will slap you," she said bluntly before he could speak, her hands mindlessly playing with his fingers as she continued to look down.

Ezra chuckled softly, "Seriously? You would slap a dying man?"

A lump formed in her throat as the word 'dying' left his mouth. Aria looked up and met his eyes.

"Ezra..." she pleaded, her voice nearly inaudible.

"It's true, I didn't want you to worry," she opened her mouth but Ezra continued, "But I also wanted our time together to be genuine. I didn't want false emotions, I wanted this to be real. I would take you yelling at me over you being forced to be with me any day."

"But all the time I've wasted with people who..." she swallowed, "Who I can see a month from now, I-"

Ezra shook his head, "Aria, stop. Please. I don't regret anything," he said before smirking at her, "You really think I could have trusted you to go out and make new friends after I'm gone?"

Aria hated how right he was. In her current situation, if she didn't already have a group of people to talk to she was almost sure she wouldn't have the strength to reach out. But still she had taken for granted the one thing she and Ezra didn't have any more of. Time.

"But if I'd known I would have-" she started but Ezra cut her off.

"Stayed by my side and refused to leave?" Ezra finished.

In another circumstance he would have been amused at how cute Aria looked when her shoulders slumped in defeat. Aria wanted to be angry with Ezra but she couldn't. She couldn't spend the rest of their time together on such a pointless emotion. Instead, she found herself bursting uncontrollably into tears finally letting the grief and sadness take over. Aria always found herself lucky that she'd never truly suffered the loss of a loved one. Sure, she had grandparents and distant relatives that had passed away but she was never particularly close to any of them. Even with the loss of Alison, Aria could never find the energy to properly mourn her cruel and manipulative friend.

She vividly remembered Emily's face when they discovered Maya had been murdered. That was something Aria was sure she would never be able to forget. She always wondered how someone so broken managed to stay whole. She half-expected Emily to physically crumble into small pieces, not because she was weak, but because it seemed impossible for one body to carry so much grief. Now Aria understood that it was the worst feeling in the world. Her insides were shattering and breaking apart, held together only by her flesh while the shards cut and tore at the underside of her skin. She wanted to explode and let go of all the destruction beneath her surface. Her sobs took over her whole body and only increased her desperate need for release. The countless tears she shed couldn't carry the full weight of her sorrow and her endless cries just left her wanting something more to numb the pain.

"Hey," Ezra said softly, removing a few strands of hair from Aria's face and tucking them behind her ear, "You're going to be okay, Aria."

She shook her head, sucking in long breaths to gain her composure, "No. No I'm not. You're the one, Ezra," she whispered.

Ezra flashed his boyish smile, the one that could make Aria believe that he wasn't currently in a hospital bed, "There are multiple ones for us, Aria."

"I know I used to say that but... I guess I knew in my head that it was always you. You are my only one."

Ezra exhaled deeply, "You may be the only one for me, but I'm not the only one for you."

"How can you say that-"

"I've experienced what life has to offer me and I know what I want. You're young, you can still decide what you want. Maybe what we have is the best thing for you like it was for me. But maybe it's not. You're going to go college and you'll explore new things. Maybe you'll find new interests and someone new to share those with. Maybe one day, you'll find someone who is better for you and you'll be happier. That's okay, Aria. It's okay to be happier without me," he explained.

Of course he wanted to believe that he was Aria's soulmate just as much as she was his, but he knew better from experience. There was a time in college when he thought Jackie Molina was the love of his life. Aria erupted into sobs again, unable to fully accept the reality of their situation. She didn't want to find someone new, she just wanted Ezra.

"I can't," she said shakily, "I just, I can't..." she choked out between sobs.

Ezra pulled her closer to him and leaned forward, placing his mouth next to her ear, "You can try. For me. Because I wanted to live to see you be happy and become everything you ever wanted to be. And if I can't be there to see that then I'm sure as hell not going to hold you down either," he whispered.

Aria leaned back and studied his face for a moment. Ezra's eyes were watery but still the same deep blue color that made her heart race whenever she saw them. She quickly found herself lost in them and before she knew it, and before she could let out another sob, her lips were on his. She kissed him gently but hungrily as their mouths matched each others perfectly. Neither of them seemed to mind that a hospital wasn't the most private of places. In fact, Aria had nearly forgotten that they were currently on top of a hospital bed. Ezra's hospital bed. He trailed kisses along her jawline and down her neck, traveling along her collarbone until eventually he ended up back at her neck. He sucked on her skin, subconsciously leaving her with a temporary but final gift to remember him by.

Eventually they pulled apart, both desperately seeking air. Aria leaned her forehead against Ezra's as he brushed her cheek with his thumb, wiping away any new tears that had fallen from her beautiful eyes. Their chests rose and fell rhythmically with one another and Ezra couldn't help his large grin and the breathless laugh that escaped his lips. He lifted his chin and planted a light kiss on the tip of Aria's nose before leaning his forehead back against hers. She giggled quietly and they stared deeply into each others eyes for what felt like an eternity.

"I need you to know," Ezra whispered breathlessly, breaking the silence, "The time we've had together has been the best part of my life. I thought I knew what love was but I had no idea. I didn't even know what being in love meant before you came along. You have given me the greatest life anyone has ever lived and I am the luckiest man in the world. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to have met you. I will never be able to express how much you mean to me, Aria. Thank you... For everything," he said softly, barely managing to finish.

Somewhere in the silence a nurse had entered his room. She remained quiet, though, standing off in the corner so as to not disturb the moment. Ezra laid down on his back again as his breathing began to take more and more energy out of him. Aria eased his head onto the pillow and sat up, grabbing his hands in hers and holding them tightly. His grip was significantly weaker and his voice was hoarse and nearly inaudible.

"Aria..." he began, sucking in a deep breath with a great amount of effort, "I think I'm-"

"No," she interrupted, "Please just... Don't say it," she pleaded, her voice cracking as she felt the lump in her throat rising again.

Tears began to fall again from both Aria and Ezra's eyes. She had a horrible feeling that the nurse was not there to simply check in. Ezra knew very well what she was there for, or more appropriately what she was waiting for. His eyes felt heavier with each second he kept them open but he didn't dare close them. He couldn't let go of her image just yet. Aria brushed his hair away from his eyes and a quiet whimper escaped her mouth.

"I can't do this without you..." she choked out softly, "This isn't fair."

She avoided his eyes and stared at the floor, afraid she wouldn't be able to confront him without completely losing it.

"A-Aria, look at me," he said, struggling to make the words pass through his lips, "It's okay."

Aria looked up and Ezra smiled at her once again, trying to squeeze her hand tighter but with little success. She smiled back at him, a hysterical and sad chuckle coming from her mouth. He had the same smile she fell in love with that first day at the bar. The smile she dreamed of when she went to bed alone. The smile that could make her feel happy even on her worst days. It was his smile, and it was forever buried deep within her memory as a sign that things would be okay. Eventually.

"I- I'm so sorry..." she said softly, letting a few tears drip down her cheeks and onto the bed. He looked into her warm hazel eyes as his breathing slowed. She knew this was it. She could see his eyelids getting heavier and how hard it was for him to stay awake. Aria collapsed onto his chest, crying, hoping she would get to hear his voice one last time.

"Please, Ezra. I love you," she cried into his shirt as her arms were draped over his shoulders.

He took one final breath and pressed his lips to her ear, using any strength he had left to speak...

 _"I hate you,"_ he whispered.

The steady beeping turned solid as Aria wrapped her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She pressed herself against his body refusing to let any space between them. Her cries filled the almost empty room as she desperately buried her face into his chest, attempting to savor the temporary heat of his skin before it turned ice cold. Aria didn't know how long she spent in that spot nor did she care. She wasn't ready to let him go. Sometime later, Aria felt a hand wrap firmly around her bicep and pull her off of him.

"No! Please!" Aria screamed, struggling against the nurse's grip, "Let me go!"

"Ms. Montgomery please, we need you to calm down," the nurse said calmly as two more nurse's entered to take away his body.

"NO!" Aria cried out again, trying to break through the nurse's hold on her arm. She watched helplessly as they rolled Ezra's body out the door and down the hall. The nurse released her arm and hesitated for a moment, eyeing Aria before hastily following the other nurse's in the hall. Then Aria was left alone. Her knees began to buckle beneath her and she slowly stepped to the wall. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she leaned her weight against the wall and slid down. She came into contact with the floor and pulled her knees to her chest as she continued to cry.

 _"I hate you,"_ Aria thought.

She remembered Ezra's last words to her and a smile spread across her face. Maybe forever did exist somewhere, but for now it could exist in her memory of him.

Aria closed her eyes and imagined his smiling face before her, "I hate you, too."

* * *

_**July 7th, 2013** _

_Ezra reached his hand out to wipe the tears from her face._

_Aria pushed his hand away and backed up, "No. No, don't."_

_"Baby... Please," Ezra pleaded, stepping forward._

_Aria didn't move away, but she kept her eyes glued to the floor, "I hate you."_

_"No, Aria-"_

_"No, Ezra," she snapped, " **You**  put me in this position.  **You** kept this from me," she turned away from him, "I hate you."_

_"Aria..." Ezra began, tears starting to fill his own eyes, "You don't mean that."_

_"Yes. I do," she responded bitterly._

_"You don't hate me-"_

_"No, I love you, okay?! Is that what you want me to say?!" Aria yelled, spinning around to face him._

_Ezra stood silently, too shocked to move._

_Aria's voice became softer and soon enough she couldn't stop the words that were flowing out of her mouth, "I-I love you so much it's killing me. I love you more than I've ever loved anything in my entire life... I didn't know it was possible to feel like this for another person. I love you so much I can't even be mad at you when I fucking should be! I know I should be pissed that you lied but all I can think about is what I would do if I ever lost you. I can't stand to see you hurt, I-I would spend forever with you if I could. I just... I love you more than I know how to say. I almost lost you and I- I love you, Ezra. And I knew I was going to fall in love with you from the moment I walked out of that bar. And I know I'm going to love you for the rest of my life. No matter what happens to us along the way I will always love you, Ezra. Forever."_

_Ezra stared into her eyes with an intensity that made her feel as if he was picking apart her every word. She dropped her eyes, suddenly feeling insecure and regretting the horrific speech she'd just made. She heard Ezra chuckle and she hung her head even more._

_"Well," he said, closing the gap between them and lifting her chin up so he could see her teary eyes, "If that's what hate is... Then I hate you, Aria Montgomery."_

_She furrowed her brow at first and then giggled to herself. Ezra smiled back and leaned in slowly, stopping just as his lips touched hers._

_"I hate you," he whispered against Aria's mouth just before she crashed her lips with his. He kissed down her neck and stopped just below her jawline, "So," he mumbled against her skin as he bent down to kiss near her collarbone, "Much."_

_Aria sighed in pleasure both at the feeling of his mouth against her skin and the feeling his words left in her heart. I hate you. It was no longer a phrase of anger, but the promise of unconditional love. A way to somehow refer to the indescribable emotions they felt when they were together. A reminder that forevers could exist, even if they were only in our memories._

_We loved with a love that was more than love.  
_ _-Edgar Allan Poe_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm debating putting up an epilogue... So let me know what you think!


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